Pig herds in Ireland practically Aujeszky-free

The Irish pig industry will soon commence final testing for Aujeszky's Disease in its herds. This should lead to the European Commission declaring Ireland officially free from Aujeszky's Disease.

The Irish minister for agriculture, fisheries and food, Brendan Smith, said that two previous test rounds have shown that Aujeszky's Disease has practically been eliminated – and now announced phase 3 of the National Aujeszky's Disease Control and Eradication programme.

Future of agriculture
"I would like to thank pig herd owners, the farm representative bodies and veterinary practitioners as well as my department staff for the level of co-operation and commitment they have shown. The future of agriculture in the country will be influenced to a very large extent by our ability to control and eradicate animal diseases and I place a very high priority on the programme."

The objective of this programme is to officially eliminate Aujeszky's Disease from the national pig herd. This will be of significant benefit to the whole Irish pig sector by recognising the health standard of the national herd and protecting our access to export markets.

Detailed testing arrangements for phase 3 of the programme are now being finalised.